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PITTSBURGH (NewsRadio 1020 KDKA) — On this week’s edition of the Marcellus Shale Hour, Robert Mangino is joined by Matt Pittzarella of Range Resources.They welcomed Vice President and General Manager of Laurel Aggregates, Barry Fink. Laurel Aggregates provides various materials for road repairs.

They discussed the growing number of roads being repaired by the natural gas industry. These repairs are being done in many different states, including Pennsylvania.

“I’m not surprised by all the roads that are being repaired. 80 percent of our business is now focused on the natural gas industry, and a lot of our work involves upgrading and repairing the older county and state roads. It saves taxpayers a lot of money,” said Fink.

Rural roads in Allegheny County that are being repaired were not designed to endure damage. These types of roads have a low-engineered type of road system.

“Rural roads were made with a very low grade of asphalt. When you have gas companies come in, they run heavy equipment on these roads. Naturally, that does a lot of damage to roads that have been there for a while,” said Fink.

Road conditions prior to gas drillers showing up are not as high of a quality once drillers complete their work and repair the road.

“When these gas companies come back they put the roads back to a PennDOT type of specification, which is a high-quality road designed for heavy vehicles, it’s a very good improvement for the residents of that area,” said Fink.

Listen to the full show for more information about road repairs, and the process of fracking.